Loyalties
by DownwiththeSupernatural
Summary: Complete!R&R!
1. Chapter 1

HI, this is my first "Prison Break" fic, so you'll have to bear with me a little as I try and get my characters tweaked:) Read and Review please! Let

me know if ya think it's worth writing more of.

Title:Loyalties(for now, cause it's kinda a cheesy name)

Rating:T

Genre: Angst/Drama(romance later)

Characters:LIncoln,Micheal,Sucre,Abruzzi,T-bag,C-note(I know he's not one of the ones planned to escape too, but I added him for my fic.)others later.

Author:COLEHARLEY

Spoilers: Some, like the fact they're escaping and who is escaping with them:)

Summary: The brother's and the other convicts sucessfully escape from prison. But when something doesn't go as planned afterwards where

will their loyalties lie?

LOYALTIES

Ch.1

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LIncoln wondered what time it was, thinking it had to be midnight or close to it, as he, Micheal, and the four other men who had sucessfully escaped

from the prison the night before ran, as it seemed they'd been doing for hours, through the woods.

The authorities had lost their trail sometimes earlier that day, mostly due to the intricate details in planning and the route they would take afterwords

that Micheal had painstakingly planned for them. At one point during the day they had actually stowed away on a train that had taken them all the

way to the next state, and the temporary safety that could be found there, where they now were. Yet they still ran, afraid of losing there newly

re-found freedom. Of being snatched away, and then returned to the hell that stood waiting, offering Lincoln death, and loneliness and unforseen

dangers for the others. Especially Micheal, who had been the mastermind behind the escape, which by now all those at the prison would have

figured out.

Micheal.

Thinking of his little brother, who had went through so much just to break him from prison, such as having his toes cut off by order of one of the very

men who's escape he had helped permit, and risking his life by taking diabetic medicine when he didn't need it, brought a rush of love and pride to his

heart.

Of everyone he knew, be it family or so-called friends, Micheal had been the only one who stood fast to his belief of his brothers innocence. He'd

had his doubt's at first, that much had been expected though,due to the overwhelming evidence that had been used against Lincoln. After one of

his visits, and a long and heartfelt discussion between them, he had said he believed Lincoln though. If Micheal had never done anything else

for him after that day, Lincoln would have died knowing his little brother believed in him, and that meant more than he could ever describe in words.

When Micheal had shown up in prison, as an inmate, Lincoln had been furious with him.

What the hell was that stupid kid thinking? I'm gonna kick his scrawny ass!

Then when they'd finally gotten the oppurtunity to talk, and Micheal had told his his plan. His wonderful, ingenius, well thought out plan.

That Lincoln had said would never work.

"Trust me Lincoln. It will work. I'm getting you out of here." Micheal had said with conviction.

After joining alliances with several other inmates, who would provide key elements to their esape, tricking the doctor into thinking he was diabetic

so he could gain access to the infirmary which was another key element, he had done it. True to his word, he'd broken his brother out, along

with four other men. They were free, which Lincoln had never believed would happen. There had also only been one injury amongst all of then, and

it hadn't been serious. Sucre had been grazed by a bullet, on his left arm, which when they stopped to check it had already stopped bleeding.

They had been damn lucky.

Lincoln, himself had avoided a extremely close call.They had made it out of the gates, and had Micheal not seen the red light, a tell-tale

sign of a high power rifle,aimed at Lincolns chest by the man Micheal had recognized to be Bellick, and ran quickly pushing him out of the line of fire

a split second before the man squeezed the trigger, he'd have been dead.

Lincon had laid on the ground momentarily, stunned by the fact he'd almost lost his life, then rose quickly. He looked at his brother, who was

obviously shaken by the near miss. It took him even longer than Lincoln to recover, but finally they all got up and started moving again.

Another two hours on the run, and Lincoln decided it was time to take a short breather. They all sat down in a clearing in the woods and

started talking quitely.

"Damn that was intense."C-note said with a whistle

"Well at least you didn't get shot."Sucre said sarcastically.

"I would hardly call that little paper cut being shot."T-bag chimed in, and then added under his breath."Pussy."

"Being as pussy is something that you wouldn't know about, you should be quite and leave that kinda talk to the men."Abruzzi said in a mocking

tone.

"I just gotta give props to our boy Micheal."C-note stated."Crazy fucker pulled this thing off.

"Yeah esae, you the damn man." Sucre added looking at Micheal, who wasn't paying them any attention, propped against a tree, head back, and eyes

closed.

"Mike? Yo man wer'e talking to you." C-note said.

"What? Um.. sorry guys. Guess I wasn't listening." Micheal said politely as he opened his eyes and looked at them.

"We said, you the man." Sucre repeated."You did it, even though we all thought you was crazy till now.. Here I come Maricruz" he said with a smile.

"Yeah I guess I did." he said with a small tiresome grin.

Lincoln, also looking at his brother, knew he felt guilty about using Sara, and also about the gaurd they had been forced to kill during their

escape.

Micheal had said sadly,"Noone was supposed to die."

Lincoln, seeing the tears forming in his brothers eyes, grabbed his arm and pulled him on, away from the body.

He'd thought that Mike would have gotten over it by now, but his strange actions, showed that was not the case.

"Come on guys, time to move." Lincoln ordered. Though not planned Lincoln had been taking the part of the leader, and thus far had

not been challenged. The men rose and Lincoln put his hand out to his brother, who grabbed it and slowly rose to his feet.

Lincoln could have sworn he heard a small gasp, and a pained look cross his brothers face, but as soon as it was there, it dissapeared,

replaced with Micheals usual expression of intensity as he said,"Let's go."

They'd ran several more hours before jumping on the train and hiding, then they had gotten off it to find they were in a different state,

which would be relatively safe for now.

The four men with the brothers had already started making plans for the future, and discussing how long they needed to wait before

actually putting them into action.

They decided to once again stick to the woods, and started walking, in no particular direction

Lincoln was in the lead followed by Abruzzi and T-bag, then Sucre and C-note, with Micheal following in the back.

They'd walked maybe an hour more when he heard Sucre call out for him to stop.

He turned around,confused as to what the hold-up was, and saw that his brother was sitting on the ground, with his knees drawn up to his chest, and

head resting on them.

"What happened? What's wrong?" he asked walking to join the four men standing in a circle around Micheal.

"Don't know man."Sucre answered."He seemed alright, but the next thing you know he's like this."

"Something's wrong with him." Abruzzi stated, noticing the younger man's body was almost imperceptionatly shaking.

Lincoln kneeled down in front of him and asked,"Mike, what's wrong?"

Micheal looked up at him with tears in his eyes. Lincoln also noticed for the first time how pale his brothers face was.

"He shot me Lincoln." he said quitely, which brought gasps from all of the men standing around him.

"What? Who shot you?" Lincoln asked quickly.

"Bellick." he answered.

"Bellick? But when?" Lincoln asked, but didn't give MIcheal the chance to answer when he realized himself, when it had happened."When you

knocked me out of the way." he said in almost a whisper, adding" Where are you hit Mike?"

"My back." he answered hesitantly.

Lincoln went behind him and squatting down, pulled his shirt up, causing Micheal to let out a hiss of pain as the shirt peeled away from his skin.

Sure enough there was a small holle in the bottom left side of his brother's back, bleeding profusely.

"Why didn't you tell me before now?" Lincoln demanded angrily.

"I didn't want to make you end up back in prison." he answered. "After we'd already gotten so far."

"You stupid asshole! Don't you think you're more important to me. You're my brother." Lincoln said angrily.

"I'm sorry." Micheal said.

"S'okay buddy. You're gonna be fine." Lincoln said gently."We're gonna fix this."

"What are we gonna do now?" T-bag demanded angrily."They got our pictures all over television by now, so that means evey hospital

or doctors office around will know who we are. We're just gonna have to leave him."

"What did you say?" Lincoln demanded, stepping menacingly towards the other man.

"He got shot two days ago, gonna die anyway."the other man explained.

"You shut the fuck up! He will not die. I can't believe you, if not for him you'd still be in jail with all your girlfriends."Lincoln said through gritted teeth.

"I'm just being the voice of reason."T-bag replied with a shrug."Saying what everybody else is thinking too I'm willing to bet."

Lincoln looked up at the other three men before asking,"Is that how you all feel too? You wanna leave the man who saved your asses

here in the woods, alone to die."

They all looked hesitant for a moment before answering him.

"Hey man, I'm with you."Sucre stated.

"I don't believe in leaving people behind who have helped me." Abruzzi replied.

Only C-note would not say either way. He just stood there looking down at the ground.

"Well, whoevers coming with me, come on, we're gonna find my brother some help."Lincoln said, walking over and hauling Micheal to his feet, and

putting his arm around his shoulders to support his weight. The others stood looking for a moment before Sucre walked over and took Micheal's

other arm and put it around his neck.

"Let's go."Lincoln said, and they started walking, supporting Micheal between them. The others started walking again behind them, each trying

to decide what they were going to do.

Micheal moaned between the two men, and Lincoln turned and looked at him."You're gonna be alright. We will find_ somebody_ to help. I

promise."

TBC

There's chapter one. R&R please.


	2. Chapter 2

LOYALTIES CH.2

"How could I let this happen?"Lincoln thought, guiltily. I should have never went along with his plan, but I gave in. And now this.

"Lincoln, where the hell are we man?" Sucre asked, looking around the small town they had just came into after exiting the woods.

" I don't know. Never been here before." he answered, feeling uneasy.

"Looks like one of them towns in a Steven King movie or some shit like that." C-Note said, feeling a shiver go through him just thinking about the

possibility.

"Wouldn't think a big boy like you would be such a puss. To bad your momma aint here to protect you." T-bag said with a sneer and laughter.

"I'd suggest you shut up you stupid fucker, 'fore I cap your ass." was the other man's angry retort.

"In that case, let him keep on talking I say." Abruzzi said in his slow, lazy manner of speaking, as he asked himself why he hadn't just parted ways

with these idiots after escaping.

"I don't know where we are, but we're gonna find out so come on." Lincoln said, shifting his brothers weight slightly in his arms before starting

toward what looked like the center of the town.

"I wanna know who made you the boss?" T-bag asked, staring defiantly at Lincoln." Way I see it, we aint gotta do a damn thing you say."

Lincoln took several deep breaths and felt anger boiling through his viens. That man hadn't been anything but trouble since he connived

his way into escaping with them., he'd killed an innocent gaurd, who had a family, claiming he'd done it for the cause, and when he'd almost

went down for it, he'd sworn he would take them down with him. So as far as Lincoln was concerned he could kill this cocky little queer

shit who was standing before him, and not feel the smallest amount of guilt.

He walked to where Sucre was and started to hand Micheal over to the other man when his brother all the suddenly put his hand on his arm, and

said,"Lincoln, just ignore him. He's not worth it." his serious eyes locked with his brothers pleadingly.

"Alright Mike." he replied, and turned away from the man who's life his brother had probably just saved, and continued towards the town.

"A bit of advive, I wouldn't keep pushing Mr. Burrows if I were you." Abruzi drawled."I believe he finds you to be a bit expendable." he added, and

chuckling softly, followed the brothers and the other men across the street, leaving T-bag standing alone, glaring at their backs.

He stood there for a few minutes and looked around before deciding that maybe he should try and avoid any more confrontations, for now at least.

cause this place they were at spooked him and he didn't want to be alone here. When they got to somewhere that was a little more populated

though he'd let _Mr. Burrows_ know excactly what he thought of him.So just be a good boy. For now.

They reached the center of the town and were shocked to see that there was not a light on anywhere. No streetlights, no porch lights, nothing.

"Hey Linc, do you not find this shit weird esae."Sucre whispered.

"Very."he replied honestly, as he looked around trying to decide the next course of action to take.

"Mike,do you know where we are?" he asked his brother, who was staring wide-eyed around from Lincolns arms.

"No,it must be one of the small towns just past the state line I guess." he answered, his voice not much more than a whisper.

"You guess? I thought you was Mr. Masterplan. You ain't gotta map of the states tattooed on your body somewhere too?" T-bag

asked sarcastically as he came up behind them.

Before Lincoln could say anything C-note looked at him and said," My turn Linc." before turning around and punching the other man, sending

him sprawling to the paved road."Say one more fucking word man. Just.. one... more... word... about Mike, and I'll kill yo ass. You

understand me bitch?"

T-bag stood up wiping blood from his lip,"I understand you perfectly _boy_." then went and stood a ways away.

"Thank's."Lincoln said smiling for the first time in hours.

"My pleasure brother, I been wanting to do that since I met his ass, so call it my gift to you big guy."C-note said, patting Lincoln on the back.

The had reached a place that was supposedly a hotel, and since there was apparantly no doctors or anything of the sort to be seen, Lincoln

suggested they get some rooms for the night. After a brief conversation, the others agreed, even T-bag, cause they all needed a good nights

sleep after having been on the run for the past two days.

Then they were faced with the problem of trying to explain Micheal's current condition to whomever might be running the desk. In the end it was

decided that Sucre would stay outside with Micheal and T-bag while the others went in to inquire about the rooms.

"How you doing Mike?" Sucre asked, as Micheal leaned heavily against him on the bench in front of the hotel.

"Huh?" Micheal answered after a moment, turning to look at the man with watery unfocused eyes.."Did you say something?"

"Nah, nevermind."Sucre said with a sigh,and Micheal nodded his head, before returning his gaze forward staring at nothing.

"Way I figure it boys,"T-bag said loudly, directing his words towards Sucre and Mike,"We done dug ourselves out of prison and

straight into a big ole bowl of shit. So far nothing positives come from it, fish here bravely jumps in front of his dear brother, taking the

bullet meant for him, then don't tell nobody till two days later, so because of this we have to change our plans and come to this shithole

town where it looks like they ain't even got power, or a doctor I might add. I'll be this first one to say it boys, we're fucked. Yep, taking a

big one up the ass." he concluded.

"You oughta like that then." Mike said with a snicker, followed by a cough so fierce it doubled him over, and when finished left him gasping for

air,his face bright red, and his eyes watering.

"Telling you something fish? That maybe you should be careful 'bout what you say huh?" T-bag retorted, and followed it by doing mock coughing.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Get the hell away from us!" Sucre demanded.

Inside the hotel Lincoln, C-note,and Abruzzi had first thought there was noone running the desk after ringing the bell ten times. Finally though

when C-note had his hand poised to ring it again, a woman appeared out of nowhere and swatted the mans hand with a flyswat.

"Ow, are you crazy lady? That hurt." he whined, cradling his one hand in his other.

"I heard you the first _ten_ times you rang the bell. It takes time to get to here from the office. So to answer your question sir, no I am not crazy.

_You_ are just impatient." she said condescendingly, adding a overly sweet smile.

He scowled at her and Lincoln took this as an oppurtune time to chime in asking,"Do you have any rooms available?"

"Sure do. Got two of them available." she answered politely.

"Can we rent them for the night?" Lincoln asked.

"I don't know, they're the two best rooms, and are pretty expensive." she said hesitantly.

"Money, is not a problem my dear." Abruzzi drawled out."Of that I can assure you."

"How many are there of you?" she asked.

Lincoln hesitated a moment before answering,"Six, there's six of us."

"Well the bedrooms only have two beds in each so you would have to share, unless somebody sleeps on the floor or something." she said thoughtfully.

"One of the guys is my brother, so that won't be an issue for us, and I'm sure the rest of you guys can work something out. Right?" Lincoln said,and after

they nodded their heads he payed her the money, and she gave them the keys, and walked them upstairs to where the rooms were.

"What! No television?" C-note said in dismay.

"I don't see a phone either." Abruzzi said.

"Around here we feel theres no use for such things. They're only violence and devilry anyway. Will that be a problem for you fellows?" she asked.

"You do have power and water though?" Lincoln asked.

"Of course." she replied , sounding annoyed by the question.

"Then we'll take it." Lincoln said. No television was a good thing in his book. They'd be safe here for a while, or at least he hoped they would.

Following her back downstairs he asked her,"Do you have a doctor in town, or anywhere close by?"

"Well we got doctor childress but all he does is deliver babies. Never have a need for a doctor for anything else around here." she replied.

This place gets weirder and weirder, C-note thought. What kinda town has no tv's, radios,telephones, or doctors.

"Ok, thanks."Lincoln said, and went out to retrieve his brother.

"Look Micheal, they don't have a doctor at all in this town, but we're gonna have to stay here tonight. So we'll do what we can for you in the room

and then we'll get you a doctor tomorrow, I promise." he said kneeling in front of his brother to look eye to eye with him.

"O-okay." Was his reply, and Lincoln helped him up."I need you to try and walk normal okay bro? I'm getting a weird feeling about this

place, and I don't want them to kmow you're hurt alright?" he asked.

"I'll try."Mike said, and stood up straight, wavering a bit at first, but finally got it under control, and they made their way inside past the

woman who was now sitting behind the check-in desk staring at each of them as they filed by.

"Hello." Micheal said, smiling as best he could, when he went past her.

She smiled back and nodded her head in greeting, a small blushing appearing on her cheeks.

"I think she likes you Mikey," C-note chided from where he stood behind him, ready to catch the younger man if he fell going up the stairs.

Finally they reached the two rooms and then came the arguing over who had to share a room with T-bag.

"I'm with my brother."Lincoln said with a grin.

"I'm with his brother too."Sucre added."We were cellmates, so we're practically blood." he added grinning.

Abruzzi and C-note looked at each other, then at T-bag before Abruzzi said," Me and C-note here will share a bed if that's alright with

him."

"Oh yeah, that sounds wonderful." C-note answered, looking at T-bag and shaking his head in disgust while saying,"Aint no way. No way."

"Guess I get a big ole bed all to my lonesome's then."T-bag said, with a pout.

"Damn straight."C-note stated.

"If you even look at me, I will kill you."Abruzzi drawled, and that my fruity friend is a promise."

"Your loss." T-bag said as he went into the other room and flopped on one bed.

"Is he gonna be alright?" C-not asked, indicating Micheal, who layed curled on the bed in a fetal position.

"Don't know, but I'm hopefull the bullet didn't hit anything major or he wouldn't have been up running for as long as he was, and I don't think it

started bleeding that badly until I checked it out, because it was like his shirt had melded with his back, like a second skin. It'll be a tough night,

but I'm here for him." he stated.

"Something ain't right about this place, or this whole town as a matter of fact, I can feel it man."C-note said quickly.

"Well, we'll get Mike a doctor tomorrow and then we'll be outta here."Lincoln said, laying his hand on the black man shoulder."I'm sure they're

just a little backwards towns all."

"Yeah I guess you're right. Well goodnight." he said, and walked to where Micheal laid and said,"You gonna be alright Fish, you just hang on."

and then left to join T-bag in their room.

Abruzzi was the last to go and he told Lincoln to keep one ear open because he too had a funny feeling about the place they were staying,

"Oh I will, and _you_ had better keep an eye on T-bag, because I don't trust him."Lincoln suggested.

"Who does." Abruzzi drawled, before he to walked to where Micheal lay and said,"Good night." and then Lincoln, Micheal, and Sucre were finally

alone.

"I'll sleep with Mike. I wanna keep an eye on him." Lincoln told Sucre, who had already expected this and was laying on the other bed.

"Can you help me get his shirt and stuff off, if you don't mind?" Lincoln asked.

"Don't mind at all." he replied, and they started undressing Micheal. The pants were easy, but everytime they started to take the shirt off he would

yell in pain, and finally Lincoln had to put his hand over his mouth to stop his yells attracting any unwanted attention.

After washing his back and the wound, Lincoln went into the bathroom , and luckily there was some gauze and tape, which he applied to

Micheals back

Throughout the night Lincoln, Micheal, and sucre got no sleep.

Lincoln noticed his brother was sweating and kept trying to kick the blanket off he'd put on him, and then he drifted in and out of delirium, calling

Sara, and crying with guilt over the gaurd that had been shot.

Then the real pain came, and he started moaning, and crying, while holding Lincolns hand begging him not to leave him alone by himself,

and Lincoln sat on the bed and cradled his brothers head in his lap. "I won't Mike. I won't. I promise."

Three hours later Sucre walked up beside the bed, and after saying he would't take no for and answere, he took Lincolns place beside Micheal

on the bed.

He'd been sitting there for a couple hours when Mike started crying out in pain again, and Sucre did his best to calm the feverish man.

"You're not gonna die Mike. I think if it was a serious injury you wouldn'y have lasted this long." he said consolingly.

Micheal said nothing else that night, but cried and whimpered as Sucre cradled him, wishing the boy's pain away.

It went on as so for the remainder of the night, and when the sun rose Sucre breathed a sigh of relief.

It was sunny, beutiful day.

Maybe evrything _would_ be okay.

No such luck, it was checkout time and they went downstairs, and that's when they realized something was terribly wrong.

TBC

I'm thinking about making it a little supernatural maybe, or something else unexpected. R&R


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the great reviews and advice:) Though I didn't get what the one person meant by saying I double spaced everything? So please

explain:) Hope you like this latest installment! And Simileum, C-note is the black guy who gave Micheal the medicine to counteract the shots that

Sara gives him:) And I guess me having him call Micheal, Mike is a force of habit cause I have a little brother named Micheal and several friends

named Micheal also that I call Mike for short, but I didn't realize that Lincoln hasn't called Micheal that. So I'll try and just call him Micheal:)

Loyalties CH.3

Lincoln left his brother and the others to go downstairs and tell the woman when they'd be leaving, and was surprised when there

was noone to be found to tell. He decided he would go back upstairs with and wait another hour and come back down

again, maybe they were out to eating breakfast or something.

Coming into the room he saw the other three men from their group had gathered in there too, and were currently staring out the

window and talking hurriedly to each other.

"You need to come look at this Lincoln."Abruzzi drawled,gesturing for him to join them.

"What's going on?" he asked, then looked out of the window, and saw that their were several cars parked right in front of

the hotel, and as he watched, three beefy men got out of one of them, then one reached back in and dragged out a man

who's hands were tied behind his back,one of the others went to another car and pulled out an older woman and teenage

girl, whose hands were also tied, and the girl had a gag in her mouth.

"What the hell?" Lincoln said. Watching as several more men got out of the cars, three carrying guns, started to the hotel.

"What's happening Lincoln?" Micheal asked weakly from the bed.

"Nothing bro, just some people outside, that's all."he replied.

Suddenly someone knocked on the door to the room they were in, and they undecidedly looked at it, not sure if they should open

it or not.

The knocking continued and had an almost frenzied sound to it, getting louder and louder,

"Who the hell is that Lincoln?"Sucre asked.

"Don't know, but I'm sure as hell gonna find out."he answered as he walked to the door, and after mentally preparing himself for

anything, then physically preparing himself by picking up a lamp (a lame weapon he knew, but you gotta take what you can get)

he reached the door and said,"Who's there?"

After a long silence a female voice finally spoke,"It's me Cassie."

"I don't know any Cassie." Lincoln stated.

"The woman from the check in desk."She explained.

"Okay,so what do you want?"he asked.

"Please let me come in and I'll tell you."she said hurriedly.

He looked at his brother, and the other men who were all shaking their heads no.

"How about you tell me from out there." he demanded.

"I am only trying to help you, so let me in."she replied.

"What do we need your help for?"he asked in confusion.

"Let me in and I'll tell you."she pleaded.

"Are you by yourself?"he asked, feeling himself about to give in.

"Yes,its just me."she answered.

"Alright, but just wait a second." he said as he walked to where his brother was tryng to sit up,with Sucre standing near the bed, ready to aid

the younger man if needed.

"I don't know what the deal is guys, but you keep an eye on him." he whispered to Sucre, nodding his head at Micheal."And Micheal, try and

act normal okay? For some reason I don't want them to know you're hurt, just a feeling I have. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah,I'll try."Micheal answered, but Lincoln knew just by looking at him anybody could tell he far from normal. Giving him a reassuring

rub on the head he went to open the door.

She was standing outside of the door, and Lincoln could hardly believe how different she looked. Before she had been wearing a brown

skirt and blouse, with her dark hair pulled into a bun, and wearing glasses. He'd thought her to be plain, and in her mid-thirties.

The woman standing outside their door now was, well for the lack of a better word gorgeous, now wearing low cut jeans and a silky

looking tanktop, with her dark hair falling in waves around her face,and no glasses hiding her piercing blue eyes. He could

hardly believe it was the same person, and obviously neither could Sucre who had came up behind him, now gaping at the woman.

"Where's your manners man? Invite the lady in."Sucre said with a big smile. Lincoln groaned inward, thinking of how just moments earlier

Mr. wheres your manners, had been adamant in him not letting the woman in. Guess we know what head he thinks with.

"Come in, Cassie, is it?" Lincoln asked as he moved allowing her to enter.

"Yes, that's right." she answered looking around the room at all the men, and seeing Micheal sitting on his bed leaning forward, allowed her eyes to

linger on him momentarily before finishing her inspection.

"So? Just what is going on and why do we need your help?" Lincoln asked.

"First, tell me your names, since you know mine."she requested.

"Sure, whatever, my names Lincoln, that man over there's name is C-note, the dashing gentleman who accompanied me to the door is Sucre, he's

Abruzzi, and that man's name is T-bag."Lincoln answered.

"What about you?" she asked looking at Micheal.

"M-micheal."he answered.

"Well, Micheal and co. you picked a bad night to visit our little hotel. Those people that I'm sure you saw get out of their cars, they're kidnappers."

she said calmly.

"Kidnappers? Why are they here? And who have they kidnapped?" Abruzzi asked suspiciously.

"They're here because my father is one of the kidnappers."she answered with a sad smile."And those people that they have are the family

members of someone that screwed my dad over in a deal."

"Shit, we've gotta get outta this bitch!" C-note said loudly.

"Gotta hand it to you Lincoln,"T-bag said,"You sure know how to pick hotels, towns too for that matter."and narrowed his eyes at him.

"It was quite the surprise when you all showed up her yesterday. We havent had many guests down this way in a while, and the night

before this goes down, there you are."she said with a bitter laugh.

"Why didn't you just not rent us the rooms then?"Abruzzi asked angrily.

"I thought you would be gone before they got back, but they've came back earlier than I expected."she answered with a shrug.

"Okay, then we'll just leave and act like we didn't see anything."Sucre suggested hopefully.

"Sorry,we can't do that. You saw the people and know where we're keeping them."she said, shaking her head.

"Look lady, we ain't gonna tell nobody nothing, I assure you of that." T-bag chimed in.

"You expect me to believe you wont say anything, just because you say you wont?" she asked with a laugh.

"Let's just say that it would not be in our best interests to rat anyone out to the law."Abruzzi said.

"Why is that? Because you've just escaped from prison maybe?" she asked sarcastically.

"Shit, she knows who we are."C-note exclaimed.

"Yes, I do. I saw all your pictures on the tv last night."she said matter-of-factly.

"Thought you didn't have any tv's."Abruzzi said.

"I lied." she replied with a smile.

"Cassie, if you saw us on tv, then you know we won't tell anything to the cops, it would be as bad for us as it would for you."Lincoln stated.

"I wondered why she didn't blink at the fact we had on prison clothes man."they heard C-note whisper to Sucre.

"Well Lincoln, normally I would agree with you on that, but these are special circumstances. See those people outside are the wife, son, and

granddaughter of the prison you just escaped from's warden Henry Pope." she said.

"Like we give a damn about that bastard."T-bag said with a scoff.

"So may be the case, but we're not gonna take the risk of one of you developing a conscience,or better yet, telling them to try and gain some

brownie points to get you aquited of whatever you did to end up in prison."she said."So..it looks like you'll be joining our other guests downstairs

for the time being."

"I ain't going no damn where you crazy bitch."T-bag said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, but you will." she replied with a smile, then after whistling, three men came into the room, all armed.

"I said I'm not going anywhere."T-bag repeated angrily."I didn't escape from prison just to be held hostage by people who have an agenda against

the fucking warden. That's just bullshit."

"I'm gonna give you one last chance to make the right choice."she said.

"Screw you, I done made my choice. I'm outta here."he said and walked towards the door.

She nodded her head at the man closest to him, and he raised his gun.

Lincoln realized what was about to happen but before he could reacte the man pulled the trigger, and T-bag fell, dead before he hit the floor.

"They killed him."Sucre said unbelievingly.

"That's right, and unless any of you want to suffer the same fate you better get moving."She declared.

"I always thought I'd be happy when somebody finally killed him."C-note said in awe, as he, Sucre, and Abruzzi were escorted out the door.

Cassie looked at Lincoln, who was standing beside where Micheal was laying.

"All of you."she said.

"Cassie, my brothers hurt, he was shot during the escape. I've got to get him to a hospital or something before it's too late."Lincoln said,

looking at her pleadingly.

"I thought something was wrong with him."she stated."Still though, he's just gonna have to wait until we get our reimbursement from Pope.

Till then nobody's going anywhere. So pretty boy, get on up and go downstairs like you were told before you get another hole to add to your

collection." she added with a smile.

Lincoln helped Micheal up, and they slowly moved downstairs to where the other hostages were.

When reaching the living room where they were being held Cassie ordered Lincoln to sit on the couch, and to lay Micheal on the floor

in the corner

"He needs help, and he's scared. You've got to at least let me sit with him."Lincoln pleaded.

"No,just think of him as an assurance to us that you won't try to pull ant funny business."she said with a laugh.

"I'm a doctor, let me take a look at him."Pope's son said.

After a moments thought, while looking at Micheal laying curled on his side, sweating, and shaking she finally relented.

"Make it fast."she said.

The man went and kneeled on the floor beside Micheal.

"I'm gonna need you to lay on your stomach Micheal so I can look, okay?"Pope's son asked

"A-alright."he answered and slowly rolled himself onto his stomach.

The man pulled up his shirt, ad was immediately able to see the small hole in the younger man's back, and also saw it was

turning a greenish color, and had lines running from it.

"How long ago did this happen?" he asked Lincoln.

"Almost three days ago."he answered.

"You mean you've let this kid(or at least what he considered a kid) go three days with a bullet in his back?" he asked.

"We didn't even know about it till yesterday cause he hid it from us."Lincoln answered hesitantly, feeling guilty all over again.

"Will he be alright?"

"I couldn't say at this point, but I can say that the sooner we get that bullet out, the better chance he has."The man answered.

"How can we do that? Unless you got a foldup operating room somewhere with some painkillers handy."Lincoln said angrily.

"No I don't, but all I needs a sharp knife and some strong hands to hold him down" he said.

"No Lincoln, don't let him do it. Please."Micheal pleaded.

"We gotta let him Micheal."Lincoln said."I'm not gonna let you lay there and die, if there's something he can do, then I'm

going to let him do it."

"This is all very touching."Cassie said sarcastically."But I'm giving you ten minutes to do it if you're going to, after that, no more

chances."

"Sorry Micheal."Was all Lincoln said as the doctor beckoned to the other men to help hold him down.

The older woman they'd kidnapped, pope's wife, came over to join them, and after picking up Micheals hand to give him support said

"It's alright dear. This is necessary to help you."she said in a soothing tone.

"N-no don't let him." he pleaded once again, as she looked at him sympathetically.

"Ok people, here goes nothing." the doctor said while cutting into Micheals back.

He bucked, and screamed , yelling for his brother to help him as the man dug around in the wound, trying to locate the bullet.

"Shh dear, just calm down. He's almost done." Pope's wife said soothingly.

Finally when Lincoln was about to make the doctor stop, he located the bullet and held it up triumphantly.

"Thank god."Sucre muttered, he didn't know Micheal that well, other than what he'd learned about him in prison, but he had grown fond of

him, and didn't enjoy seeing him in so much pain.

The doctor finished cleaning the wound, and after putting a bandage on it, rose with a sigh.

"Is he gonna be okay now?" Lincoln asked.

"He needs to be in a hospital."the man answered."He's got a bad infection, and it's spreading throughout his body, taking the bullet

out did buy us more time though.

Cassie told the men who had been holding Micheal down to go back to the other side of the room, and even though he asked, wouldn't let

Lincoln stay with his brother.

Lincoln looked like he was about to explode with anger, but as he was about to do something stupid, the teenage girl spoke up.

"Let me sit with him m'am. He shouldn't have to be alone."she said sadly.

"Fine. Get over there, but keep him quite, his moanings already getting on my nerves."she said.

The girl went and sat near him, and lifted his head up, laying it in her lap.

"Hey Micheal. My names Kim. Is it alright with you if I sit with you for a while?"she asked, and she couldn't help but notice how cute he was.

"O-okay, just don't wanna be alone.'he muttered.

"Not a problem. I don't have anywhere to be, unless you didn't notice, and plus, how many times come when a girl can be near a hottie

like you. If only I was a few years older." she added with a sigh, as he looked at her with watery eyes.

At that moment one of the men who came with Cassie, came bursting into the house, holding a cell phone out to Cassie."It's him. It's

pope."

TBC

This chapter is a bit crappy, I know. But I developed a bit of writers block. The next chapter will be better, I promise!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey first of all I want to thank all of you for your helpful input:) I am new to the whole fan fiction writing family, and I am still learning as I go. So I will use

all of your input in an effort to make myself a better writer:) So keep it coming. And if my chapters ever seem a little rushed a apologize, its because I

do most of my writing at night after my husband and son are gone to bed. It's my only free time:( I want to also thank ya'll for your story suggestions

cause I'm probably gonna use some of them;)

Loyalties ch.4

"Okay Mr. criminal mastermind, I hope you can come up with a plan to get us out of this one."C-note whispered to Abruzzi, who was sitting on

the floor next to him.

Abruzzi looked at the man,an expression of annoyance on his face.

"Come on man, you were a mob boss right? Surely you must have some kinda plan forming in that head of yours." C-note pressed.

"The circumstances were generally quite different in my past experiences."Abruzzi replied.

"In other words, you don't have a plan."C-note said with a sigh.

"That would be correct. What about you?" he asked.

"I'm drawing a blank."he answered.

"Ah." Abruzzi said, and they sat in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, until C-note spoke again.

"He ain't doing so good is he?" he asked looking at where Micheal lay on the other side of the room with his head in the teenaged girl's lap..

"No."was Abruzzi's quiet reply

"Think he's gonna die?"C-note asked.

Abruzzi turned his head to look at the man beside him as he answered,"I don't know."

"Yeah," C-note said, then added quietly,"I hope not."

Almost imperceptively, Abruzzi said,"Me neither."

Cassie looked at the man holding the phone out to her, annoyance crossing her face,"Why are you giving the phone to me you idiot? Give it to my

father!" she yelled. The man muttered a quick reply and handed the phone to one of the other men, who once you took a good look, was undoubtedly

the girls father. They both had the same dark hair, and blue eyes, the only difference being his hair was tinged with gray.

"Henry Pope," the man said in a deep voice,"I do believe it's been too long since we last spoke old friend."

Apparently Pope didn't immediately recognize his voice,"Come on Henry, it's your old pal Carl Ray, you haven't forgotten such a close friend have you?"

He was silent for a minute as the other man spoke from his end of the phone.

"Well Henry,I know you're wondering why I am calling and bothering you at work , with you being such a busy man these days it's the only

place I could reach you, So I'll get straight to the point Henry I want the money you owe me and I want Scott."

Another silence passed.

"Oh, I believe you'll give me anything I want Henry, that is if you don't want me to kill your family."he said lightly.

Their was muffled yelling heard from the phone, then Carl spoke again.

"Oh, I assure you Henry, I have your family, your wife,son, and granddaughter, right in this very room with me."he said smugly.

Silence,then "Sure, you can talk to her."he said kindly."Paul,bring Mrs. Pope over here for a moment."he ordered, to a tall blonde man, who

was standing over the woman.

He helped her to her feet, and they came over to Carl, who handed her the phone.

"Henry?"she asked in a quivering voice.

Silence as he spoke.

"Yes, they came to the house and forced me to come with them. I was so scared." she continued in a wavering voice.

he asked something from his end and she replied.

"Yes, they got Mark when he was leaving work, and Kim after she was leaving cheerleading practice."

More questions from him.

"No Henry, they haven't hurt any of us, but there's other people here that are being held just because they were in the wrong place at

the wrong time, and a young man's been shot, you've gotta do something Henry."she cried,and Carl jerked the phone from her hands.

"Now you believe me Henry?"Carl asked.

silence.

"Well I suggest you get to work on getting my boy out of that hellhole you run, and getting me my money, if you don't want the missus and the kids

to suffer the same fate as the young man she mentioned."he said with an evil laugh.

silence.

"I expect a call back within the next three hours Henry, oh and don't bother trying to trace the call,it'll be a waste of time, I assure you. Three hours."he repeated

then hung up.

"Dad! Why did you make him think we were the ones who shot Micheal?" Cassie asked angrily.

"Dear, if he thinks we mean business, and thinking we shot someone will achieve that, he will comply much quicker. See this whole mishap is going in our

favor Cass."he answered with a smile.

"But we are going to let them go when we get what we want right?"she asked, and when he didn't immediately answer she said it again,"Right?"

"Of course baby. Of course."he finally answered, but she was not convinced he was being truthful.

Micheal had drifted off into a restless sleep, but was now awakening, and all the pain came rushing back on him at once, as he looked around

at his surroundings through unfocused eyes.

"L-lincoln?" he said through chattering teeth,as he looked around trying to find his brother.

"He's right over there Micheal."Kim said in a hushed tone."See? Over there sitting with your other friend."

He finally made out the sight of Lincoln, who was staring in his direction.

"Y-yeah I see him."he said, slowly laying his head back in her lap."W-was afraid he left me."

"Don't be stupid Micheal, I'm pretty sure it would take about ten mack trucks to pull that man away from you, so you don't even worry about that mister.

And that's an order."she said, wagging her finger at him in her best impression of her grandmother.

"T-these people,they're not gonna l-let us go."he said slowly.

"Yes they are. You don't know my papa Pope, he'll do whatever it takes. We'll be outta here in no time."she said, holding no doubt in her mind that

what she said wasn't the truth. Her papa would come.

She felt him turn over, and heard him let out a deep moan, and feeling helpless all she could do was rub his back and try to reassure him that he'd be

fine while he moaned and occasionally cried. How could these people let him suffer like this when he didn't have anything to do with it at all. She

looked up and met the eyes of Micheals brother, and she saw in that one glance how much he loved his brother, She felt a renewed confidence that

no matter what Lincoln wouldn't let his brother die like this, and she gave him a small smile, which to her surprise he returned. And in a typical teenage

moment she thought, whoa he's cute too. Not quite as cute as baby brother here, but definetly a hottie. She was pulled away from her immature

thought though by Micheal moaning again, and the man who had been called Paul saying harshly,"Shut him the fuck up. All that whining is getting on my

nerves."

"Well _excuse_ him. Let's see how you'd act if you had been shot and a buncha assholes wouldn't get you any help you prick!"Kim yelled at the man, who face

flushed red with anger.

"Honey, be quite."Carl said to his daughter, knowing she wouldn't listen, but trying it anyway.

"Listen you little bitch, if you want to blame anybody for that boy not getting help,you can blame your old papa Pope." he said, snarling at her."So like I

said, keep him quiet or I'll make him stay quiet my way! Understand?"

She glared at him through narrowed eyes, but finally nodded her head and looked down at Micheal, who was staring at her.

"Thanks."he said, and she realized he must have been coherant enough to have heard what had just went on.

"My pleasure."She said, giving him a smile."You gotta try and not moan so much, okay Micheal? Think you can do that for me?"

"No,"he answered truthfully, as his eyes filled up once again."B-but I'll try."

"That's enough for me." she said and gave in to the urge she felt and hugged him,careful not to touch his back, then kissed him on his forehead."How old

did you say you were?" she asked with a grin.

Lincoln sat with Sucre watching the young girl caring for his brother, and felt helpless. This was all his fault. And he was going to do something to fix it.

And it would have to be done soon, He let his eyes travel to Cassie who was looking at her father with a mixture of love,confusion, and also distrust. He

felt a plan forming just watching her, and felt hope for the first time that day.

TBC

R&R!


	5. Chapter 5

I am here with chapter five for you. Due to the suggestions concerning Cassie, I'm gonna go a different way with this than I had first intended. So bear with me as

I am now making it up as I go :). And I want to thank my new Beta, Saraofearth, for the much-needed help. I've never been too good at being thorough when it

comes to spelling, punctuations, and such. So thanks! gives big hug

Loyalties Chapter- 5

There was much tension in the room as the kidnappers and hostages alike anxiously awaited the return call from Pope. It had been almost two and a half hours, and they had yet to hear back from him. They were all getting quite antsy, especially the hostages, as they wondered exactly what Carl Ray would order his daughter and the other kidnappers to do if he didn't call back in the allotted time.

Lincoln sat beside Sucre, keeping his gaze locked on his brother, who was now sitting propped up against the wall opposite him with a despondent look on his face. Michael was staring at nothing in particular as he tried hard to hold in any sounds that might be accidentally released due to the condition he was in. Lincoln had never felt as helpless in his life as he did now, looking at his baby brother hurting, and being able to do absolutely nothing about it.

The thick silence was suddenly broken by Abruzzi.

"I know that generally in situations such as this, it is not wise to ask questions." The greasy man started in his lazy manner, "But one thing that I think we deserve to know, Pope's family and us others alike, is exactly why we are being detained in a manner such as this?"

"Why don't you just ask Henry's wife?" Carl Ray responded, looking pointedly at the woman.

"Mr. Ray, I have no idea what you're talking about. Until today, I had never even heard of you." she said in a wavering voice.

"You expect me to believe that you knew nothing about your husbands past escapades!" he asked incredulously.

"No, I don't expect you to believe it either. But regardless, it is the truth." she answered firmly.

He stared hard at her for a moment, and then decided that she truly didn't know what he was speaking of.

"I suppose it is only fair that you know what that slimy bastard of a man did. Even if only to let you know what kind of person the man you each so lovingly call 'husband', 'father', or 'grandfather' really is.

"Let me start first by telling you that me and Henry go way back. We attended college together, and grew to be as close as brothers, and even afterwards always stayed in touch.

"As I'm sure will come as a great shock to you, I was, until almost three years ago, a police officer. But like more police officers than you could probably imagine, I let myself be led astray. After several years on the force, it became common for certain informants I dealt with to let

me know when something was going down. I was told that I could take advantage of it to make a little extra income on the side. Very early on in the game, it came as a pleasant surprise for me to find out that my old buddy Henry was among the many who took part in such deals as these.

"One night, a little over three years ago, a particularly reliable informant let me know of a hot deal that was going down, and if approached properly, could lead to a lot of easy money. Me, being the good friend that I was, decided to offer Henry the chance to go in with me on it, as he had done for me on several occasions. After telling him all the details, he declined my offer though, saying he was going to stay on the path of the straight and narrow since he had acquired his position as warden at the prison. I was disappointed, but I respected his choice and harbored no ill will towards him for wanting to change his life for the better. After all, I did love him like a brother. I left his house that day thinking of him as such. It never crossed my mind that he would betray me." Carl looked around the room after saying this, and was satisfied to see that with the exception of the injured man, he held everyone's attention while telling his story. He continued.

"The night the deal was to go down, I was called away on a case, and since this had often happened in the past, my son Scott filled in for me. It was simple, intercept a Chinese man who had came to our country to take part in a drug and arms deal run by one of our local crime lords. My people were waiting on him at the landing strip to take his money before he got off the plane. Imagine the surprise they felt when the FBI was there also, along with Henry Pope. He had told them an informant had tipped him off, and had led them straight to my son. Scott, being the devoted son he is, took the fall for the whole plan, knowing that if I were implicated in the crime it would ruin me. To make matters worse, an FBI agent was killed in the bust, and even though Scott swore to me the man had not died by his hand, a ballistics report on the bullet taken from him showed the shot had been fired from his gun. The agent killed just happened to be the one

who had been guarding the money that had been intended to trade hands in the deal, and it magically disappeared. Poof! It vanished into thin air. Not long after that, Henry bought himself and the wife a new house and a nice new car for you, if I remember correctly." he said, looking questioningly at Mrs. Pope, who looked shocked by this new revelation.

"Oh come now, didn't you wonder where he got the money for all your new toys? Surely you're not that blind. My son got a life sentence with no chance for parole, and you get a new house, a car, and who knows what else! Hardly seems fair, wouldn't you agree? So I quit the force and bided my time until the right opportunity came along to get my boy out. I must admit, it was a lucky break for me when he was sent to Henry's prison though. I couldn't have asked for a better setup. So now you all know the reason behind this, and I do feel better after getting all that off my shoulders." He concluded with a grin.

"I can understand your anger towards myself and my family Mr. Ray, but do you have to let those feelings impair your judgment concerning these other men who had nothing to do with this?" Mrs. Pope asked after allowing all he said sink in.

"Unfortunately, my daughter has a tendency to take in strays, and by doing so last night, she has given me no choice but to detain them also. I can't take the chance of anything going wrong. And if that means keeping them here also, then so be it. I'll have no loose ends." he said raising his hands in a show of helplessness. "Cass, I'm gonna walk outside for some air, make sure everyone behaves while I'm gone, Dear." he instructed, eyeing the people pointedly. He walked out after she nodded her head in agreement.

"You do realize, dear Cassie, that your father has no intentions of letting any of us leave here alive, don't you?" Abruzzi asked, breaking the silence that had descended over the room.

"And what makes you think, Mr. Abruzzi, that I give a damn?" she said with a sweet smile.

"They're gonna kill us man!" Sucre whispered to Lincoln worriedly.

"Not if we kill them first," Lincoln replied softly.

"You are one crazy fucker, Lincoln Burrows. Just how do you plan on us killing seven people when there's only five of us? Well, four actually, 'cause Fish ain't exactly in the best shape," He added, casting a wary eye to the young man. "Plus, three of those guys have guns. How are we supposed to do anything with no weapons?"

"There's a weak point in every wall, Sucre. You just have to pinpoint it, and when you do, everything has a tendency to fall into place. I thought that the girl might be that weakness, but now I'm starting to have my doubts…" Lincoln trailed off.

"Well you better figure out who it is and quick, because if you don't, the whole damn walls gonna fall on _us._" Sucre whispered back.

"I will, it should-" Lincoln started to respond, when their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Kim's frantic voice.

"Michael! It's okay, Michael. You'll be okay," she was practically yelling. Lincoln looked up to see his brother doubled over on the floor, simultaneously throwing up and gasping for breath.

"Daddy, you gotta do something!" she cried frantically, looking at her father with pleading eyes.

"L-Lincoln," Michael managed to gasp out, calling for his brother. The man quickly got up and rushed over to him.

"Hey, get back over there." Paul said, walking over and grabbing Lincoln by the shoulder.

"No! If you're planning on shooting me, then you can just go ahead. 'Cause I'm staying right here. And get your damn hands of me!" Lincoln yelled angrily.

Paul looked as though he was about to do just that when one of the other men said, "Jesus Christ, Paul. Just let him stay over there with his brother. What the hell would it hurt?" he asked.

"Alright," Paul said after a brief pause, and released his hold on Lincoln. "But don't try anything, or I'll shoot your precious brother right between the eyes" he said menacingly. The man trudged back to his previous spot, glancing suspiciously at Lincoln.

Michael finally quit retching, and Lincoln took his outer shirt off and wiped his brother's face with it. He then put his arm around him and pulled his body against his in a hug.

"Help me Lincoln." Michael said weakly, his whole body shaking. "I don't want to die."

"I'm not gonna let that happen, Michael. I promise." he replied gently, pulling his brother even tighter into his embrace. "You're going to be just fine. I'm gonna get you outta this mess, just like you did for me. You hear me?"

Michael nodded his head against Lincoln's shoulder.

Sitting there, he started formulating a plan as he looked at the man who had took his side in staying with his brother.

He had found the weak link, and soon everything would fall into place.

TBC

I know, kinda angsty and stuff :(. But necessary in setting the big finale that will come after a few more chapters. So ta ta for now! Oh, don't forget to review!


	6. Chapter 6

Loyalties Chapter 6

"Anybody have a plan yet?" Sucre asked C-note and Abruzzi, after moving to sit with them.

"Not me, but I ain't going down without a fight." C-note replied.

Pope still had yet to call, and it had already passed the three-hour mark.

"Bastard ain't gonna call back." Sucre said with disgust. "Don't even care about his own family."

"He will call." Abruzzi said.

"What if he don't though? I mean, it's already after the time. Figure they'll start killing people soon." C-note stated with a frown.

"Not to worry, my friends. I have no intentions of dying today, and if you do as I say, when the time comes, you won't either." Abruzzi whispered softly, while looking straight ahead, so as not to draw any unwanted attention.

"There are only three guns between all of them," Abruzzi continued, "One of which the lovely Cassie is carrying. Now I know better than most men to never underestimate any foe, _especially_ a woman, but I've been carefully observing our captors. From that alone, I've gathered that, of the three, she is the most uncomfortable with handling a weapon."

"And you got that just from watching her?" C-note whispered skeptically.

"Let's just say that reading body language is one of my many talents." he answered with a shrug, trying to appear modest.

The others continue to look at him apprehensively.

"For example, see how Paul over there is holding his gun?" Abruzzi pointed with his eyes toward the man farther right. "How he has it carelessly aimed at the floor, and he's not even paying attention to the people he is supposed to be watching? _That_ is a sign of being overconfident, which ultimately, be it on this occasion or not, will be his undoing. Confidence is good, but when it reaches the point it has with him, turns to stupidity, and causes mistakes."

"Huh. Guess that makes _three_ white boys I know that ain't stupid," C-note said, "Guess there's hope for you after all." he added with a small chuckle. Upon hearing this, the captors turned their heads at them with annoyed looks.

"The idea is to not draw any unwanted attention!" Abruzzi hissed in a whisper.

"My bad," C-note replied with an embarrassed grin.

"And as for your little _remark_, though I'm not sure if I should, I'm going to take that as a compliment." Abruzzi said with a half smile before continuing what he was saying, "Now, I think if we have to, we can easily disarm Cassie, but Mr. Cocky," he said, nodding his head at the man who had taken Lincoln's side against Paul. "I'm unsure as to that one. Some people are hard to read…"

"Well, we can sure as hell try. 'Cause I ain't going down like T-bag. That shit just ain't happening." C-note whispered vehemently, and then asked, "What about Fish, and Lincoln?"

"I think, when the time comes, Lincoln will catch on easily to what's happening. As a matter of fact, I think he's already considering doing something like it himself. As for Michael, well, we'll just have to see…" Abruzzi answered slowly.

"We ain't leaving Michael," Sucre stated firmly. "Even if things didn't go as he planned, he still got us out of that shit-hole, so he's not being left behind. Not a chance."

After turning his head slightly to look at him, Abruzzi replied to his comment.

"I was not _implying_ that we would. I meant that if we play the waiting game too long, that young Michael won't be an issue, because he'll be dead," he stated grimly.

"Oh, then I guess we just gonna have to speed it up then." Sucre said.

"We will wait just a little longer to see if Mr. Pope actually does care for his family before we do anything that might turn out disastrous, shall we?" Abruzzi suggested.

"Okay, but we ain't waiting too much longer, right?" C-note asked, casting a meaningful glance in Michael and Lincoln's direction.

"No, so just be prepared to act," Abruzzi answered.

"If there's one thing prison life taught me, it's always be prepared to act. So that won't be a problem," C-note said replied nonchalantly. They all went silent as they waited anxiously to see how it would play out.

The cell phone rang a few minutes later, and everyone in the room let out a collective sigh of relief as Carl Ray answered it, but to their dismay, he decided to walk outside and conduct his call in private, leaving them waiting once again.

"How you holding up?" Lincoln asked his brother, whose head lay resting on his shoulder.

"M'okay." Michael replied through chattering teeth, "Just really c-cold."

Lincoln looked closely at Michael, who was sweating profusely, and wondered how he could possibly be cold, when he could feel the heat radiating from him.

Lincoln picked up the shirt he was using and wiped Michael's face off again. He noticed his breathing had become raspier and labored than before. He was still fighting, but it had become obvious that if something didn't happen in their favor soon, he was gonna lose the battle.

Feeling tears prick at his eyes as he looked at his brother, Lincoln told himself not to get discouraged. He heard Michael mumble something else.

"What?" he asked him gently, leaning in closer.

"Thirsty." Michael repeated in barely a whisper.

Lincoln sat up and after thinking for a moment, decided that this might be an opportunity to drive a wedge between the captors, and help make Michael more comfortable at the same time.

"Hey!" he said loudly to no one in particular, just hoping to get some response from somebody.

Luckily, the first to reply was Mr. Congeniality himself.

"What the _hell_ do you want?" Paul asked rudely.

"Think I could get some water for my brother?" Lincoln asked with an exaggerated smile.

Paul snorted in disgust before replying, "What do you think this is? The damn Hilton? You're hostages remember? You're lucky we even let you sit with him."

"He's sweating all the water out of his body." Pope's son chimed in from where he sat with his daughter and mother. "If he's not already, he'll get dehydrated if he doesn't get any fluids in him."

"So what?" Paul responded with a shrug. "That's really not my problem."

"You are such an asshole." Kim said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"What did you say, little girl?" he asked, walking menacingly towards her.

"What are you _deaf_? She said you're an asshole, though I'd have to go with something a little stronger myself. Maybe more like _pussy_ or _prick_. Those seem more fitting to me." Lincoln said, nodding slightly.

"You wanna hole in you to match your precious little brother there, smartass? So you can die together?" Paul asked through clenched teeth as he turned his attention to Lincoln.

Lincoln started to stand up, his fists clenched, with barely controlled anger on his face.

"Yeah, that's right, big guy. Get on up and give me a reason," Paul said menacingly, raising his gun to point it at Lincoln.

Michael seemed to come out of a daze as he realized what was about to happen, and grabbed Lincoln's arm before he could stand up.

"No! D-don't," He said, looking at Lincoln with pleading eyes. "Please s-stop."

Lincoln looked at him and said, "Just be quiet, Michael, let me handle this prick."

"Stay where you are, Lincoln," Abruzzi said in a calm voice. "You will not do your brother any good if you're dead."

Unnoticed by the other people in the room, the man who had taken his part earlier, had went into the kitchen, and had now returned with a glass of water, which he walked over and gave to Michael.

"What the hell, Greg?" Paul asked angrily. "I said _no_."

"What harm is there in giving the man some water, Paul? Are you really so heartless? He's suffering enough as it is, and they don't even have anything to do with this!" Greg replied defiantly, turning angry eyes on Paul, who it seemed, backed down some against the bigger man.

"You're really starting to piss me off, Greg." Paul stated angrily.

"So what?" the other man replied, mocking Paul's own words from earlier, as he stood up from where he'd been kneeling in front of Michael and Lincoln.

"Thank you," Lincoln said.

"Don't mention it." Greg replied and walked back to where he'd been standing.

After he had walked back, everyone turned expectantly to Carl Ray, who had returned to the house finally.

"Well, good news, Pope family, the old man is coming through for you. He's gonna arrange to have my boy and my money brought to me, so true to my word yo'll be free to go." he said with a grin.

"What about them?" Mrs. Pope asked, referring to Lincoln and the others.

"Well, he's not exactly concerned with their well being, now is he? After all, they did escape from _his_ prison." he replied.

"You mean, they're gonna take them back?" Kim asked.

"Oh no, nothing like that," Carl replied lightly.

"Well, that's good," Kim said, with a sigh of relief, which quickly turned to a gasp when Carl said his next words.

"Good old Papa Pope said to kill them," he added nonchalantly.

Across from where they were sitting, Abruzzi turned to the two men sitting near him, after making eye contact with Lincoln, and said, "Boys, remember what we were talking about earlier? I suggest you be prepared to act on it _very_ soon."

T.B.C.

Hope you like this chapter! Another will follow soon. R&R. Thanks to all my reviewers thus far and to my beta!


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry it took so long for the update:( I've got three stories going at one time, and only two hours a night to work on them.

LOYALTIES CH.7

"Henry would not tell you to kill anyone!"Mrs. Pope exclaimed, then added,"I have learned many things about my husband today, but even after _that_ I refuse to believe you."

At the same time Kim looked over at the escapees and said,"You guys _escaped from prison_?"with a look of surprise on her face.

The only one who acknowledged Kim was Sucre who shrugged his shoulders, with a strained smile on his face.

"Hello little girl, are you stupid? Look at what they're wearing."Paul said smugly.

"I thought they were just, well... Why am I even bothering to talk to _you."_she stated, looking at him with annoyance, then turned to Lincoln and Micheal with an acussatory glare, before saying,"_That's _how you got shot. Escaping from _prison_."

Micheal just looked at her sadly, while Lincoln replied angrily,"You don't know the story, so quit trying to make him feel worse than he already does."

"This little scene is touching, _really, _but how it happened doesn't really matter anymore."Carl Ray said snidely."Now get up, so when can get this over with."he demanded.

"Come on Carl, we're not really gonna kill them are we?"Greg asked."They had nothing to do with Scott."

"Yes, we are. They're loose ends Greg. And if you can remember ,we leave no loose ends,"Carl answered calmly, waving his hand at Paul and Cassie to get the prisoners up and moving.

Paul walked to where Lincoln and Micheal sat at pointed his gun at them, and said with a huge grin,"Come on tough guy, time for you and little brother to get better aquainted with my friend here."and shook his gun to indicate who his friend was, just in case they didn't know.

"There's gotta be another way."Greg said."We don't kill innocent people."

"What the hell is up with you?"Paul asked angrily."You sweet on one of em? They _were_ in prison, so maybe you might stand a chance."he added with a snicker.

"Go to hell, you piece of shit! If you wanna kill them, go right ahead. I'll have no part in it though."Greg said turning to leave the room.

"Hey Greg."Carl called out, and the man turned to him,"Noone questions my decisions._Noone _"Carl said as he pulled the trigger on the gun he had taken out of his pocket, killing the man.

"Daddy, no!'Cassie yelled in surprise."He was _one of us_."she cried, as Greg fell to the floor.

"_Was_, being the key word." Paul said, smirking.

Kim was screaming with tears rolling down her face as her dad hugged her tightly.

"He fucking killed him."C-note said in amazement."One of his own men, and he killed him."

"One should never take it for granted that they are too valuable. He crossed the bossman and payed the price."Abruzzi drawled calmly, shrugging as if

seeing someone murdered was an everyday occurence for him."Happens all the time."

"No such thing as loyalty anymore."Sucre muttered.

Lincoln was shocked by the strange turn of events.

Guess I won't be using ole' Paul after all, he thought grimly.

Micheal was retching uncontrolably. Seeing the man who had been the only one of the group to show any kindness to him get his brains splattered across the floor was just too much for him.

"Calm down Micheal."Lincoln ordered.

"H-he shot him for helping m-me."Micheal cried after the retching ceased."All my f-fault."

"No, it wasn't. You gotta quit doing this to yourself bro."Lincoln said soothingly.

"And t-they're gonna k-kill us next."Micheal continued.

Lincoln was only half listening to his brother as he surveyed what was going on in the room.

The captors were arguing back and forth, not paying any attention to their prisoners, and Lincoln knew the time to act was now.

He let his gaze lock with Abruzzi's momentarily and the man looked at him and nodded his head, showing that he too thought it was time.

"Micheal,"Lincoln whispered."Things are about to get ugly, so try and be prepared for anything."

Then as if in unison, Lincoln and the other three capable members all jumped quickly to their feet, and rushed the three people who were in control of the guns, Lincoln taking Paul, while C-note took on Cassie, and Sucre wrestled on the floor with Carl Ray.

"Not so badass are you now prick?"Lincoln asked, punching the man in the face, making him fall unconscious to the floor.

Well, kinda anti-climatic, Lincoln thought. He hadn't expected Paul to go down so easy.

He turned to look at C-note and the others, and saw that C-note had disarmed Cassie easily, and now had her pinned, struggling, to the floor.

Sucre also appeared to be gaining the upperhand as he wrestled the gun from Carl Ray, but before he could pick up the other man's weapon,Carl uppercut him, sending him flying into the wall beside them, then grabbed his gun back up.

Before Sucre even had time to reacte, Carl pulled the trigger, nailing him in the chest.

"Shit!"Abruzzi exclaimed angrily. He walked quickly up behing Carl, and grabbing his head between his hands, gave it a twist, snapping his neck."Filthy piece of shit."he said, spitting on the man's body, before making his way to where Sucre lay.

The man was still alive, but after seeing where his injury was, Abruzzi knew he was not going to make it.

Micheal had somehow managed to half-crawl and half-walk his way to the injured man also.

"I'm s-so sorry."Micheal said to the dying man as he gripped his hand tightly.."This is all my f-fault."

"No way fish."Sucre gasped out."Nobody made me come."

"Please don't do this."Micheal pleaded.

"Don't think I have a choice."

Pope's son had relinquished the sobbing form of his daughter, and was now bent over Sucre, trying to see if there was any hope of saving

him, but sadly, when he saw where the wound was he knew there was nothing he could do. The other's having tied up Paul and Cassie were now standing in a circle around Sucre with grim looks on their faces, taking in the scene before them.

"Tell Mariacruz that I love her." Sucre said, as his body convulsed one last time and his grip loosened in Micheal's hand.

"No, no, no."Micheal repeated over and over again as tears flowed freely down his pale face, while keeping his grip on the dead man's hand.

"This wasn't supposed to happen"he said, his face twisted in anguish."N-noone was supposed to d-die."

Lincoln walked up behind him, laying a hand on his shoulder."Come on Micheal. We've gotta get out of here before Pope comes."he said softly.

"We c-can't just leave him h-here."Micheal said, shaking his head no.

Abruzzi thought about Sucre saying the same thing about Micheal earlier, and bowed his head sorrowfully. Who would think _he_ would be so upset over a man who, though he'd been in prison with several years, he could've cared less about until recently.

"He's right Micheal. We have got to go."he stated calmly.

"No."Micheal replied vehemently.

Lincoln, looking at his distraught brother, decided he had to do something he didn't want to.

"Sorry Micheal."he said, before rearing back and punching him in the face, knocking him out cold.

"I can't believe you hit him."Kim said unbelievingly.

"I had no choice. We've got to get out of here and get him some help."Lincoln explained grimly, as he reached down and lifted his brother's unconscious form into his arms.

"Get the keys to their car."Abruzzi said to C-note."The woman has them."

"Alright." he replied and stuck his hand into the womans pocket where she had them.

"You're gonna pay for this you bastards."she hissed at the men in the room.

"Oh shut up bitch."C-note said angrily to the woman, after retrieving her keys."Not another fucking word."

"Go on, get out of here."Pope's son ordered them."While you still can."

Lincoln stood holding his brother and looked at the three members of the Pope family."Thanks for helping him." he said with a slight smile.

Mrs. Pope and her son said you're welcome, and Kim slowly approached Lincoln and after kissing Micheal's still form on the cheek said, "Take care of him."and walked to rejoin her family.

The four remaining men walked to the front door,and as they were exiting, stopped when they heard Paul say snidely,"You may have gotten away _boys_, but that ain't going to save baby brother there. I'll personally tell Pope to make sure that every hospital and doctor around will on the lookout for you."

"Excuse me for a minute my friends."Abruzzi said and walked over to kneel in front of Paul."Usually I am not one who is prone to violence, well at least not any that I actually partake in myself, but I feel you have more than earned it."he drawled out, then punched the man in the face, after which he leaned down to whisper in his ear,"You're good as dead." and rejoined Lincoln and the others.

"He's right Lincoln."C-note said after they had all gotten into the suv their captors had been driving, and Micheal had been laid in the back seat with his head in his brothers lap,"Our faces will be all over the television, even more than they already are. We take him to a hospital and we'll all end up back in jail. Fish wouldn't want that."

Lincoln knew he was speaking the truth, and after a pause said,"Then I guess we'll just have to get him help from another source."

Looking at his wounded brother, he prayed that the source would be willing to help him.

TBC

I know this was not the greatest chapter, but I've been pressed for time in writing it, and am determined to finish this story. So I hope it's not too crappy!

Only two more chapters to go. R&R.


	8. Chapter 8

I'm sorry about the long wait for an update! I got banned for a week because of my spelling!Here is my next installment, so I hope you find it worth the wait! Oh, and sorry to those of you who are big Sucre fans, but I'm willing to bet that when the escape _really_ does go down, someone will get killed, and C-note isn't an important enough character for anyone to care! Thanks for the great reviews everyone. Keep 'em coming!

Loyalties-Ch.8

Veronica had just fallen asleep after watching David Letterman, when she was jerked back into consciousness by the loud pounding at her door. Glancing at her bedside clock as she rose from bed, she wondered who could possibly be visiting at this hour.

LJ most likely, she deducted with a sigh. Must've lost his key, _again._ Ever since his mother's death, he had been living with her frequently coming home at all hours of the night.

His erratic behavior seemed to have only gotten worse since Lincoln and Michael's escape from prison. She was starting to wonder if her offer for him to stay with her had been a mistake. She loved him like family, but she was frustrated with her feelings of helplessness where he was concerned.

The knocking continued getting louder and more frantic as she slowly made her way to the front door. Then she realized the knocking was not coming from the front but the back instead.

Why would he be at the back door?

_I hope he hasn't been doing anything he shouldn't_, she thought frowning worriedly.

"Alright, I'm coming!" she yelled, sleepiness and frustration making her generally even-tempered demeanor disappear.

She reached the back door and pulled it open while saying, "Look L.J., this coming home whenever you feel like it has got to sto-" her sentence cut off mid-word when she saw who was standing on her back porch,

"_Lincoln_." she said, staring wide eyed in a shocked whisper.

She hadn't seen or heard from him since the escape, and the _last_ thing she ever expected was to find him on her back porch at 2 am.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" she asked, when the shock had passed somewhat.

"I know this is a shock, Veronica, but we need your help." he replied nervously.

"_Yeah_, this _is_ a shock. You escape from prison, and I haven't heard from you or that brother of yours for days. For all I knew, you could be _dead_!" she said angrily, letting her pent up feelings out. "My god, Lincoln, you haven't even _tried_ to get in touch with your son! Do you have any idea how this is effecting him! His mother did just get killed not long ago!"

"Veronica, you're right. I should have tried to call or something, but honestly a lot has happened and calling to check in was the last thing on my mind." he said truthfully.

"The last thing, huh? Well, what do you want? You do realize that since I was Michael's lawyer it is quite possible that the police could be watching my house, don't you?" she asked.

_"There's no one watching your house."_ she heard someone say from the shadows behind Lincoln.

"Who is that?" she asked. "You _didn't_ bring your prison buddies here too did you?" she asked angrily. "That would be a really stu-"

"Just _shut up _for a minute, Veronica, we don't have time for this! Now I said we need your help, so are you going to help or not?" he asked quickly.

"_Fine_, but if they are watching here, and they find you, don't blame me." she replied hesitantly, opening the door wider in an invitation to enter.

Lincoln disappeared into the darkness again as two slightly familiar men entered her house.

"Hello, thank you for opening your home to us." the older one, a longhaired man said in a lazy drawl.

"Yeah, whatever." she replied, wondering where Lincoln had went.

Then he came back into view, carefully cradling his brother in his arms.

"_Michael,_ oh my god, what happened to him?" she asked, leading them to her bedroom, where Lincoln gently lowered him to the bed.

She turned on the lamp beside her bed, and gasped when she saw the younger of the brothers clearly for the first time.

His face was pale, with huge black circles around his eyes, and his face was covered with a thin sheen of sweat. He was shaking, while mumbling incoherently. His eyes open, staring at nothing with a, glazed, vacant look.

"It's okay Michael." Veronica said in a soothing tone, as she put her hand to his forehead and felt the heat radiating from him. He moaned pitifully and she turned to look at Lincoln, who was staring at his brother with a distressed expression on his handsome daze.

"Once _again_, I will ask. What. Happened. To. Him?" she repeated slowly.

"He got shot during the escape." Lincoln answered, lowering his eyes guiltily from her gaze.

"He got shot, _when_? But that was_ days _ago!" she exclaimed, looking Michael over to try and locate the wound.

"It's his back." Lincoln said quietly, "He shot him in his back."

He rolled Michael onto his side. She pulled up his shirt and finally saw the offensive hole in his lower back, and with a sharp intake of breath, covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh, Michael." she whispered, seeing how bad his condition truly was.

"There was a doctor at the hotel who took the bullet out, but he didn't have any medicine or anything to give him afterwards." Lincoln said quietly. "And I couldn't take him to the hospital because we're probably on 'America's Most Wanted' by now. I'm sorry for coming here and involving you, but I didn't know where else I could take him." he added, looking at her with such helplessness in his eyes that she felt her heart breaking just seeing it.

"It's okay, Lincoln, you know I will do anything I can to help. I love both of you, but I'm not a _doctor. _What can I do?" she said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't you have an uncle who is though?" he asked. "Martin, isn't it?"

"Yes." she answered hesitantly, "But I don't know if he'd be willing to help in a situation like this."

"You have to talk him into helping! And now, look at Michael. He's not going to last much longer, and I won't let him die like this!" Lincoln said loudly. "He didn't deserve this happening to him!"

"Okay, okay, I'll call Martin, just calm down. I'll do my best." she said, and then, picking up her bedside phone, left the room so her uncle wouldn't hear Michael's moans of pain.

She decided not to tell him the whole truth until she had him at her house. She knew that no doctor could refuse helping Michael after seeing the state he was in, especially one who had been in the profession as long as Uncle Martin.

He finally picked up the phone after she let it ring a long time, and she launched into her tale she had come up with, saying LJ had gotten into a fight and had gotten hurt badly and she couldn't take him to the hospital because the police were searching for him.

She knew Martin had a soft spot for the rebellious teen and wouldn't be able to say no, and she was right.

After promising he would be there as quickly as possible, they hung up, and she went back to the bedroom to tell Lincoln.

"He's coming, but I didn't exactly tell him the truth, so when he gets here you're going to have to let me talk to him before you come out." she said, then remembering Lincoln and Michael had not come along, asked Lincoln, "Is there any way you can get your two _friends_ to leave? I know that you're all tired, but Martin won't help with a houseful of escapees. "She finished with a helpless shrug."

"Yeah, I think I can manage that." he replied. Looking at Michael once more, he went to the living room where the other two men were, leaving Veronica alone to watch Michael.

She didn't know what had happened to the brothers in the last few days, but she really did love them, and didn't want anything to happen to either of them.

She thought, looking at Michael with affection, how during her time as his lawyer, she had started to once again think of him as her little brother.

She went into the bathroom and got a washcloth, and wet it, then brought it back, wiping his face with it, before easing his shirt off of him and wiping his chest also, wondering again, how much it had hurt to get the intricate tattoo put on it.

She then went to her drawer and pulled out one of her ex's shirts and eased it on him, and pulled the cover up around him with a sigh. Maybe he could rest a little better now, she hoped. The woman turned her back shortly but whipped back around when she heard Michael speak clearly for the first time.

"Veronica?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Yeah. Hey, Michael. "she replied, sitting down softly on the bed beside him.

"W-why are we here?" he asked, with a confused look on his face. "Where's Lincoln?"

"He's in the living room talking to your two friends. He'll be right back, I promise." she replied.

"Oh, okay."

"And the reason you're here is your brother. He brought you so we could get you some help. My uncle, who's a doctor, is on his way, and he's going to fix you up." she continued lightly, sounding more sure than she actually felt.

"It's too late to fix m-me." he said sadly.

"_No, it's not!_ Don't talk like that! You've made it this far, so you're not giving up now." she said emphatically." I don't know what's went on these last few days, but I do know that if anything happens to you, Lincoln will _never_ be able to forgive himself. So you're just going to have to fight this okay?"

"Okay." he replied after a pause, then looked at something over her shoulder, and she turned to find Lincoln standing behind her.

"Hey, bro. "he said softly, rubbing Michael's short hair affectionately.

"Hey."

"They're gone." Lincoln said, looking at Veronica, "It was hard to do, because, believe it or not, they didn't want to leave old Mikey here without knowing he was okay, but after I gave them your number and told them to call tomorrow night, they finally agreed. They have plans they want to get started on anyway."

"Good." was her only reply.

They heard the front door open, and heard LJ's voice, "Hey, Veronica, what's going on? Why are the lights on?" he asked, walking into her bedroom. "_Dad_." he said stopping short. "Uncle Michael, you're _here_." he stated in disbelief.

"Hey, LJ," Lincoln said in a voice thick with emotion, and was shocked when his son ran and hugged him tightly, saying. "I missed you, dad."

"Yeah, I missed you too." he said, hugging him back.

When LJ finally pulled away, he moved to hug Michael, but seeing the drawn expression on his uncle's face, hesitated.

"S'okay." Michael said, lifting his arms slightly, and LJ hugged him too.

"You okay, Uncle Michael?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Michael replied, not wanting to worry his nephew. "J-just a little under the weather."

Then the doorbell rang, and Veronica quickly got up from where she was sitting.

"LJ, that's my uncle Martin. You remember meeting him before right?" she asked.

"Yeah, that old dude who's a doctor." he replied in typical teenage fashion.

"That's the one. He's here to help Michael, but I need to talk to him alone first. So you and your dad stay in here with Michael until I come get you alright?"

"Sure, no problem." LJ answered with a shrug.

Leaving the room, Veronica heard Lincoln ask LJ, "Why are you just now coming in this late at night?" and couldn't help but smile.

Then moving to open the front door, thought grimly, _here goes nothing_.

TBC

I know lots of you asked me not to bring Sara into this, so I used Veronica instead, so I hope ya'll don't mind too much! I'm going to wrap everything up next chapter, and hopefully I won't keep you waiting as long this time or disappoint you with the ending! R&R!


	9. Chapter 9

Alright everyone, here it is. The final chapter of my little story! I just want to say, I've had so much fun writing this, and I'm going to miss it. I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to review my little tale!

Sarahofearth- I want to thank you for your wonderful betaing and the long reviews. I loved reading them, and it's always great to find someone that I share the same interests with! You have been, by far, my #1 fan of this story. I hope you will stick around for my others. (which yes, I will be sending your way to beta, girl.) So, lots of big hugs sent to you! (hug) (hug) (hug) (hug) (hug)

Misswildfire-Your continuous input and reviews have been awesome. I know some writers don't really listen to what reviewers have to say, but I do. Your suggestions have been very helpful! So hugs to you too!

Simileum- Same goes for you! Thanks much!

Morgan, Chaigirl, Frost, Cylentwind, Nimue26, Storywriter, Lexa, Sharpshooter626, and all of the other reviewers, thanks a lot to you also!

So here goes, I hope it doesn't disappoint you!

Loyalties Ch.9

"Uncle Martin! Thank you so much for coming." Veronica exclaimed as she opened the door and wrapped the older man in a warm hug.

"Where is he?" Martin asked after returning her hug, slipping right into doctor mode.

"He's in my bedroom" she answered after a pause, watching him remove his coat and the black hat he always wore.

"Then lets go." he said, starting towards the door.

Veronica grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop.

"Wait, there's something I have to tell you first." she said slowly.

"What?" he asked, looking at her with suspicion. He knew his niece well, and he could tell by her body language she was up to something.

"It's not LJ in there, Martin." she said quickly.

"It's not LJ? Then who is it?" he asked in surprise.

"A friend of mine… And let me say ahead of time that I'm sorry for involving you, but he's in really bad shape. I didn't know who else to call." She replied hastily, and then releasing his arm, led him into the bedroom.

"Veronica, are these men who I _think_ they are?" Martin asked after a sharp intake of breath at seeing them.

"Yes, they are, but that's not important now." she said in response.

"I _refuse_ to have any part in aiding _fugitives_ of the law." Martin said stiffly, and turned to exit the room.

"Wait! Just listen for a moment, okay?" Lincoln said loudly, walking to stand in front of him, blocking his exit.

"Move." Martin said shortly, not looking the least bit intimidated by the bigger man.

"Martin, I know that my face and my brother's has been pasted all over the TV, and yes, we _did_ escape from prison. But if you believe nothing else I tell you, believe this, my brother is _not _a criminal. He only did what he did so he could help_ me _escape. Hell, he didn't even try and put up a fight when they arrested him, that should tell people something. You _have _to help him. If you do, I will call and turn myself back in if you want. Just help _him_!" Lincoln pleaded.

Martin stared at him expressionless for a moment, then turned and walked to the bed where Michael was laying.

"What happened?" Martin asked, and breathing a sigh of relief, Lincoln went to stand beside the man as he answered.

"He was shot several days ago." Lincoln replied, and hearing LJ gasp, turned to him.

_"What!_ Why did you lie to me?" the outraged teenager asked. "You said you were just under the weather!"

"I'm s-sorry, LJ." Michael said in a strained voice. "Didn't want to worry you."

"Take him out of here, Veronica," Martin ordered.

"No way! I want to know if Michael's going to be okay!" LJ protested. "I'm not a baby!"

"Come on." Veronica said softly, putting her hand on his shoulder and pushing him towards the door.

"No!" LJ stated, resisting her.

"Come here." Michael said, looking at his nephew.

Veronica took her hand off his shoulder and let him go.

"I'll be fine." Michael said to the teen. "So do what they say."

"You _promise_?" LJ asked, looking at him unsurely.

"Yeah." Michael replied. Bending down to hug him, LJ reluctantly left the room.

"Help me turn him over." Martin ordered Lincoln, after being told where Michael had been shot.

"My god." the man said, seeing the wound.

Michael had passed out again, and seeing the look of distress on the doctor's face, Lincoln asked,

"Can you help him?"

"I'll do what I can, but I'm not going to promise you anything. How in the world did you let this young man get in such a state?" he asked accusingly.

And while Martin did what he could for his brother, Lincoln filled him in on the happenings of the last few days.

A few hours later, LJ woke up in the recliner he had fallen asleep in, roused by the sound of Martin entering the room.

"Well, how is he?" he asked anxiously.

"He's still holding his own. I patched him up and gave him some antibiotics and pain killer, but the rest is up to him." Martin replied, as he sat down on the couch with a sigh. "He's asleep now."

"He's not a bad person. My dad's not either." LJ proclaimed out of nowhere. "They set my dad up, you know, killed my mom too."

"Well, I don't know about all that, I'm too tired to think about it right now." Martin replied.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before LJ once again spoke, "Are you gonna turn my dad and Mike in?" he asked, worry written on his face.

"No, I don't believe I will." the old man replied, and LJ smiled at him in thanks.

(2 wks later)

"You put that down_ right _now, young man!" Martin ordered Michael angrily.

"I'm_ just _taking the trash out, Martin, I feel so useless just sitting around your house, eating up your and Maggie's food." Michael replied.

"Now, Michael, do as he says." Martin's wife said in a chastising voice.

"You'll feel even more useless if you undo all the work I've had to do on that back of yours." Martin said shortly, walking up and taking the bag from Michael's hand. "Now go sit down!"

"That's all I do." Michael muttered under his breath as he went and took his usual position on the couch. He had been staying with Martin and his wife for the last week and a half, and felt as if he was taking advantage of the elderly couple, even though many a time they had told him differently.

Martin found Michael to be a very intelligent young man, and had many enjoyable conversations with him, and Maggie couldn't have asked for a more polite or gracious house guest. He always made a point to compliment her cooking, and even if he didn't help with actual chore type things around the house, he helped fill an old woman's time during the day, and to her, that was worth much more. They were both going to miss him when he left and sincerely hoped things worked out for him and his brother.

"Oh quit your pouting, Mike." Lincoln said, popping his brother playfully on the head, as he entered the room, followed closely behind by LJ, who said,

"You should be happy they don't make you do anything, Veronica works me like a _slave_."

"And you'll _continue_ doing what she says, _Slave_." Lincoln said to his son, putting him in a headlock.

"Stop it, dad." he whined. "You're messing up my hair."

"Oh the trauma." Lincoln said sarcastically, releasing him, and he sat beside his brother on the couch.

"How's Michael doing today?" he asked lightly, and Michael smiled at him, happy to see his brother looking so carefree, even if it was for a short time.

"Michael's fine, just bored out of his mind." he replied, frowning.

"Look, I'm just glad you're getting better, and you should be too. So don't go trying to do anything you're not ready for and hurt yourself again. You hear me?" Lincoln asked, looking at Michael with a serious expression.

"Yeah, I hear you." Michael replied, and then asked Lincoln, "Did he talk to her?"

"Yeah, she took the news about as well as could be expected, but she'll be alright I think." Lincoln answered solemnly.

LJ had gone to see Mariecruz, told her what had happened to Sucre, and given her the message he had sent. Michael had wanted to go himself, but with the police still hunting for them, and him not totally healed from his ordeal, it had been decided that LJ would go. Michael still intended to one day go and see the woman himself though.

Sucre had been more than just an inmate who wanted to escape, he had been a friend, and Michael never forgot friends.

A week after arriving on Veronica's doorstep, C-note had been recaptured at the home of one of his old partners-in-crime, ending up right back in Pope's prison again. Veronica had openly expressed her concern about the man ratting out his fellow escapees, but they weren't concerned with that. He wouldn't turn them in.

Abruzzi had come by Martin and Maggie's house three days ago, driving a new Lexus, and the brothers at first had not even recognized the man. He had shaved, and his hair was cut short. He had wanted to come say goodbye to them, and though he had not known Abruzzi long, Michael had felt like he was saying goodbye to a longtime friend. It was kind of funny actually, he had hated the man in prison, but he was now actually going to miss him. Abruzzi was going to move to a disclosed location for an undetermined amount of time, so Michael was pretty sure he'd never see the man again, but no one knew for sure.

As for him and Lincoln, they were also planning to move on in another few days, when the good doctor gave him permission, that is.

LJ had argued about wanting to go with them, but Lincoln had stood firm that it just was not going to happen, but had promised his son that he would keep in close touch with him by phone until the day he was officially cleared of the murder he'd been on death row for. With Veronica still working diligently on the case, Michael had no doubts that it would one day happen. Then Lincoln would return to his son, and Veronica, who, though he had not openly admitted it, Michael knew had rekindled his old flame within the past weeks.

Michael knew it would happen, and was happy for them. The only loose end for him was Sara, who, when the time came, he would set things right with. He now realized even though he had hurt her, it would do even more harm to reinvolve her at this point. In time, he would fix it though, and thanks to his brother and the friends he had acquired during his time in prison, that was something he had more of now, and he would use it wisely.

"Hey, you alright?" Lincoln asked, looking at his brother's solemn expression with concern.

"Yeah, I'm good." Michael replied with a smile. "As a matter of fact, I'm _great_."

Things were good.

For now.

THE END

Okay, I kind of left it open at the end for a sequel, because I had so much fun writing this, and I hope everyone didn't mind the kind of happy ending I gave them. I felt I'd put them through enough torture (for a while at least). So, I know it's sappy, but this is the end!

So until I decide to write a sequel, ta ta for now!

P.S. Sarah- I didn't kill C-note, but I did put him back in prison for you!


End file.
